The Lobalug Curse
by SeeleVerloren
Summary: What will happen when Harry Potter is forced to work with the awful Draco Malfoy on a Potions assignment? Will contain SLASH. Please read and review.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** Harry Potter and co. are owned by JKR etc etc etc.

**Warning:** Will eventually contain **slash** – that is, **male-on-male action**. Click the 'back' button if that's not your scene. Dunno whether this will end up as fluff or smut though.

**Author's Note:** This is set in their 5th year. Anything you read in OoTP is unlikely to carry through to this fic.

To say Potions class was boring would have been more than a slight understatement. Professor Snape had been unexpectedly called away and his replacement, Professor Griffin, was almost as dry as Professor Binns.

The teacher had demanded absolute silence; however he hadn't said anything about paying attention. As the Professor droned on about the properties of Lobalug poison in potions, Harry Potter felt himself grow more and more sleepy.

As he gazed around the classroom, he saw that much of the class was in the same state as him – one of utter boredom. Only Hermione was listening with rapt attention, and Ron, whose head was cradled in his folded arms, was snoring gently.

Even Draco, who was usually a good Potions student, seemed to be bored. Although his eyes were fixed on the teacher, he was lazily scribbling on a piece of parchment. Harry suspected Draco wasn't taking notes, and he didn't blame him.

At that moment, the Slytherin boy looked over at Harry. He sneered coldly, but not before Harry had noticed the faint flush in Draco's high cheekbones.

He glared back at Draco, but inside his heart was racing – and he didn't know why.

_I wonder why he blushed_, Harry thought to himself. He snuck another look at Draco, but the boy's attention was directed toward the teacher once more.

At that moment the bell finally rang. Harry breathed a sigh of relief, and all thoughts of Malfoy left his mind as he put his things in his bag and moved on to his next class.

That night, Harry couldn't sleep. The weather was unusually warm, and the air was thick and muggy. The sheets on his bed were tangles, and his pillow felt like a cement slab. As he changed position for the umpteenth time, his mind returned to his thoughts earlier on in the day – Draco Malfoy.

Harry and Draco had been enemies since their first day as first-years. Harry had never wanted to be friends with the Slytherin – he'd never wanted to be _anything_ with him. But now… something had changed. Harry felt his insides tingle pleasantly as images of the haughty blond boy flooded his head.

Harry sighed in exasperation as realization hit him – he was developing feelings of a more than friendly nature towards Draco! He couldn't believe this was happening.

It wasn't that Harry was homophobic – oh no, he was far from that. And he'd had crushes on guys before, so it wasn't as though this was a new experience for him. But of all the guys he could fancy, why did it have to be Draco Malfoy – the most unobtainable guy in the school?

Harry shifted as sweat prickled his body. Eventually he fell into a restless slumber, where his dreams were full of a certain Slytherin Prefect.

**Ooh ahh, can't you just taste the cliché? Trust me, it'll get worse.**


	2. Chapter 2

-CHAPTER TWO-

Harry awoke the next morning feeling less than well-rested. The dormitory was empty, and one look at his watch told Harry he'd overslept by half an hour. He grabbed his gear and rushed out to the shower, where he'd barely washed away the soap-suds before he was out again.

As he ran into the Great Hall, he barely had time to grab a piece of toast and a fried sausage before the plates were wiped clean.

"Where were you?" Ron asked Harry.

"Nowhere, I just slept in," Harry replied as he finished off his toast.

"Yeah, well, you're lucky you woke up," Ron said, "We've got Potions first, and Snape's back."

Harry gave a groan of disappointment, but his mind was on other things. Things like Draco Malfoy, and his new-found feelings for him.

Ron was right – Snape was back, and his mood was sourer than ever. He strode into the class-room, slamming the door behind him, and glared at the class.

"Yesterday my replacement should have taught you about the properties of Lobalug poison in potions. Potter, tell me three potions you could use the poison in."

"Uh…I…uh…I don't know," Harry said.

Snape nodded, "I should have expected that," he sneered. He gazed around the classroom, ignoring Hermione's raised hand. "Can none of you answer my question?"

The resounding silence, broken only by Hermione's attempts to catch Snape's attention, was answer enough for Snape. "The teacher did talk to you about Lobalug poison, did he not?"

"Yes he did!" Hermione said, her hand still raised, "And you can use Lobalug poison in-"

"Fascinating Miss Granger," Snape said sarcastically, cutting her off mid-sentence. "I had guessed that none of you would bother paying attention," Snape said, "so I took the liberty of creating an assignment for you to do instead. But don't worry," he assured them, as a collective groan traveled through the room, "you'll be doing it in pairs."

The groan turned into a semi-excited mumble as people began picking partners to collaborate with.

Snape smirked "Oh no,**I** will be choosing who you'll be working with. Weasley, you go with Zabini. Granger, you're with…Goyle. Potter –"Snape's upper lip curled in disgust "Potter, you will work with Mr. Malfoy."

"What?" Draco asked, his voice ever-so-slightly shrill, "Why?"

"Yeah, why?" Harry agreed, trying to sound indignant. Inside however, he felt a strange mixture of emotions – excitement, trepidation, anticipation.

"Because I said so," Snape sneered, safe in the knowledge that only a teacher could give a reason that lame _and_ get away with it.

Both Harry and Draco's faces registered their disappointment, although Harry really felt anything but that.


	3. Chapter 3

-CHAPTER THREE-

The rest of the day passed reasonably uneventfully. History of Magic was as tedious as ever, and even Defense Against the Dark Arts wasn't able to fully distract Harry from his new partnership with Draco.

At last, lessons were over for the day, and it was dinner-time. Harry, Ron and Hermione sat at the Gryffindore table and discussed the Potions assignment, "I can't believe Snape!" Ron exclaimed, "What's he think he's doing, pairing me with Zabini?"

"At least you don't have to work with Goyle!" Hermione said bitterly, "This is going to _ruin_ my grade point average." She viciously stabbed at her carrots, as if to accentuate her statement.

"And you're with Malfoy, Harry," Ron pointed out. As if Harry didn't already know. "That git will probably claim all the credit."

"Yeah, probably," Harry said distractedly. He took a bite of steak and looked over at the Slytherin table. Or, more specifically, over at Draco Malfoy.

Draco was, at the moment, looking at Harry. For a split second their eyes locked. Harry felt something in the region of his stomach jump, and both boys quickly looked away from each other. When he next looked at Draco, the Slytherin boy was pointedly looking at anything other than Harry. His expression was cold, as usual, but he looked slightly shaken.

_Or is it just my imagination?_ Harry wondered to himself. He couldn't help but wonder if Draco had felt that same…spark when their eyes had met. He shook his head slightly and tried to fix his attention on his friends, who had moved on to discussing the Hogsmeade trip later that month.

When everyone had eaten as much trifle, butterscotch pudding, or lemon-meringue pie as possible, the plates were cleared and the students began making their way out of the Great Hall.

Harry was walking behind Ron and Hermione, when he was suddenly grabbed and pulled to one side. "What the hell are you doing…Malfoy?" Harry said as he realized who his assailant was.

Malfoy looked suitably bored, "We need to discuss the assignment."

"Oh yeah, sure," Harry said.

"Well, when are we gonna start? And where? I know **you** don't care about Potions, but I want a good mark for this."

"Hey, I want a good mark too!" Harry exclaimed, slightly affronted.

Malfoy nodded, "Yeah ok, whatever, Potter"

"Uh, so…we could work in the library," Harry suggested.

"Yeah alright," Draco agreed, "we can meet there at…7:30?"

"Nah, I've got Quidditch training," Harry said regretfully. "Ah…could we make it more like 8:30?"

"Yeah…that should work for me," Draco said.

Harry nodded, "Ok, well uh, I'll see you later."

Draco nodded slightly, then strode away, leaving Harry in the corridor by himself. He couldn't help but grin. He knew his crush on Draco wasn't going to end up anywhere…but that didn't mean he couldn't indulge in a few fantasies.


	4. Chapter 4

-CHAPTER FOUR-

Harry made sure he arrived at the library a little earlier than they had agreed. He'd changed into a nice pair of jeans and a t-shirt which he thought would bring out the colour in his eyes. Not that he was making an effort for Draco – he knew it was pointless. He just wanted to look nice.

He found a smallish table away from the other students – apparently most of the Potions class had had the same idea as Harry and Draco. He pulled out his parchment, a couple of quills and his Potions assignment. Harry felt his heart sink slightly as he saw the amount of work they were expected to do. He was glad Snape had made them work in pairs – it would take them most of the two weeks given to finish it. He hated to think how hard it would be if he was doing it by himself.

Glancing at his watch, he saw that Draco was now ten minutes late. He sighed – he should have expected this. Suddenly, Harry felt a tap on his left shoulder. He spun around, only to see no-one there. "Gee Potter, for a guy who's triumphed over the Dark Lord five times, you sure aren't very smart."

Harry turned to the right, and saw Draco standing there, a sardonic smirk on his pale face. He tried to quash the butterflies in his stomach, and frowned at Draco, "You're late."

"Yeah, uh, sorry 'bout that," Draco said, not looking very apologetic, "I was uh…busy."

"Yeah, I'll bet," Harry said dryly. Despite what Draco had said about wanting a good grade, Harry had his doubts whether grades where the top of the Slytherin stud's priorities.

"Oh! Not busy like _that_," Malfoy sneered, "get your mind out off the gutter, Potter."

Harry felt himself blush slightly, and inwardly cursed. "So…what shall we start with?" he asked, trying to change the subject.

"We-ell," Draco said slowly, "we could start with the first instruction."

Harry looked down at the instruction sheet: "1. Research the different varieties of Lobalugs, their poison, and potions wizards have used said poison in. Use information to aid you in the writing of an essay. Four feet of parchment should suffice."

Both boys groaned as Harry finished reading aloud. "Well…we should probably try and find books about Lobalugs," Harry said.

"Yeah, alright," Draco agreed, "uh…you look in that section and I'll look over here."

Harry nodded, and the two boys began looking for suitable books.


	5. Chapter 5

-CHAPTER FIVE-

Harry was busy leafing through a dusty book titled 'That Damn Lobalug' when he heard Draco calling him. "I've found a whole stack of books," Draco said, "and I think most of them will be useful."

"Ok…I've got a couple," Harry replied, picking up the two ancient tomes and returning to their table.

The boys sat there for several minutes, quietly reading, before Draco flung his book away in disgust. "There's nothing helpful in this stupid book," he muttered sourly.

Suddenly, Madame Pince swooped down on them. "How dare you throw my books about!" she screeched. Draco looked slightly alarmed as Madame Pince; her face reddened with rage, picked up the book and began advancing on him. "Get out! Get out! GET OUT!" she roared, pointing one claw-like finger toward the door.

Draco and Harry didn't have to be told twice. They hastily stowed their quills and parchment in their bags and fled the library.

"Now what are we meant to do?" Draco asked, a slight whine in his voice.

Harry thought quickly "Well, we could go to the Room of Requirement. I'm sure there'd be lots of useful books there."

"Yeah…" Draco said slowly as he thought Harry's suggestion over, "Yeah, alright, let's go there. Good idea Potter," He said as he abruptly turned away from Harry. Harry grinned slightly, Draco's praise echoing in his head.

The two boys made their way to the Room of Requirement, which fortunately was empty.

_We need a room where we can do our Potions assignment about Lobalugs_, Harry thought as they stood outside the blank wall. Immediately, a door appeared. Harry and Draco looked at each other, then stepped inside.

"Oh, excellent," Harry breathed as he looked around the room.

It was just what he'd wanted. The room was medium-sized, with about two-thirds taken up by tall bookshelves. At one end of the room was a largish table with a stack of parchment in one corner, along with a small pile of quills and a bottle of ink. At the other end of the room was a fireplace – currently unlit – with an assortment of curios on the mantelpiece above it. As Harry looked closer, he saw they were Lobalugs – stuffed, pickled, skeletons…

On the walls of the room were wall-postes depicting things like the life-cycle of the Lobalug, a cross-section of a Lobalug, the mating habits of the Lobalug, plus countless more.

Draco looked impressed "This is perfect!" he exclaimed.

The two boys sat down opposite each other. Harry stretched his legs out and felt his ankles brush against Draco's. He almost gasped as he felt a jolt in the pit of his stomach.

_He had to have felt that_, Harry thought as he quickly jerked his legs away from Draco's and tucked them firmly under his own seat. Glancing over at Draco, Harry noticed Draco was slightly wide-eyed, and his cheeks were pink.

_Oh, calm down_, Harry thought to himself as he felt certain parts of his body grow more than a little excited. He couldn't believe that just one touch could have such an effect on him.

**Thank-you very much to the people who have left such lovely reviews so far…I certainly wasn't expecting it. This is going to get more M-rated in a few chapters…just a quick warning to those of you who are less-mature or don't like more adult themes!**


	6. Chapter 6

-CHAPTER SIX-

Harry smile weakly on Draco and tried to focus on the assignment. "Ok…well, we could each write an essay and then sort of combine them to form a whole one," he suggested.

Draco nodded curtly, "Yeah, sure."

For the next twenty-odd minutes the room was quiet; the silence broken only by the scratching of quills and the turning of pages.

Eventually Draco threw down his quill. "Here, I've written some," he said, pushing his parchment toward Harry. As Harry reached out to grab it, his fingers touched Draco's. But this time Harry didn't jerk away; Draco did.

The blond boy tried to cover up his discomfort with a glare. Harry tried to calm the quiver in his stomach and the movement in his groin, but it was to no avail.

He glanced over what Draco had written. There was about half a page, written in Draco's careless scrawl. "Yeah, this is good," he said, genuinely impressed. Draco had good writing skills; this was obvious even in an essay draft.

"Yeah, yours is pretty good too," Draco said, passing Harry his draft back.

They worked for another 15 minutes before Draco put his things aside. "We've probably done enough for tonight," he said.

"Yep," Harry agreed, "we can finish it off next time."

"Ok…uh, when shall we meet again?" Draco asked as he stood up.

"Same time tomorrow?" Harry asked. His 'problem' had gone away, thankfully, so he stood too.

"Ok, well, I've got things to do," Draco said, walking to the doorway. Harry resisted a sudden urge to pounce on him, but merely nodded and followed Draco to the door.

"See you tomorrow," Harry said as he stepped out of the Room of Requirement.

"Yeah, uh, see you," Draco replied, brushing past Harry.

Harry watched Draco's' retreating back, and admired the Slytherin's perky butt enclosed in tight black jeans, and couldn't help but sigh. He didn't know how he was going to survive the next two weeks.


	7. Chapter 7

**Ok, this is gonna be a little M-rated now. Or maybe a lot, depending on your view, haha. Click the 'back' button now if you're not likely to want to read a scene involving masturbation. Or read at you peril – it's up to you.**

-CHAPTER SEVEN-

Harry awoke the next morning to sheets that were less than clean. He felt himself blush as he remembered his very X-rated dream, starring none other than Draco Malfoy.

"Scourigfy," Harry muttered, extremely glad of the cleaning spell – it would be rather embarrassing if the house-elves were constantly changing his sheets.

Glancing at his watch, Harry saw he might as well get up. He grabbed his things and headed into the bathroom. It was empty, and Harry was glad – even after five years he still wasn't that comfortable with communal showering.

Harry soaped himself up, the memory of the dream still fresh in his mind. He found himself getting more and more aroused, and eventually slipped a soapy hand down to his groin.

Harry wrapped his hand around his hard cock, and began stroking it, images from his dream running through his mind.

_I can't believe I'm jerking off over Malfoy_, Harry thought, but by now it felt too good to stop. He continued, feeling his breathing becoming shallower, and the pressure mount, until at last he came. Harry bit his lip to keep from crying out and felt his knees weaken ever-so-slightly as the power of his orgasm surged through his body.

Harry watched as his soap and seed washed down the drain, then suddenly became aware of someone else in the room.

Seamus Finnegan stood in the doorway clutching a fluffy white towel and a bottle of shampoo. He had a perfect view of Harry, but his eyes were averted. Harry blushed, "Uh…I was just…uh…"

"Oh yeah, of course!" Seamus said quickly. He winked as he walked past Harry. "Whoever's in your mind must be quite the hottie."

Harry turned redder. He had no idea how he was going to face Draco after this, or Seamus.


	8. Chapter 8

-CHAPTER EIGHT-

Harry sat down at the Gryffindore table, making sure he avoided Seamus's knowing gaze.

Even though he'd gotten up earlier than the other guys in his dorm, his shower had taken longer than he'd expected, so most of Hogwarts was now eating breakfast in the Great Hall.

Harry mechanically spooned porridge into his mouth, but he didn't taste it.

"Harry?" he heard Ron ask.

"Huh?" he turned to see Ron looking at him, looking slightly puzzled.

"Harry, are you alright?" Hermione asked him, frowning slightly.

Harry nodded, "Oh yeah, I'm fine."

"Sleep well last night?" Seamus broke into their conversation with a smirk.

Harry felt his cheeks redden "Uh yeah, fine thanks," he said, trying to sound casual, "how about you?"

"Oh, I slept fine," Seamus said. He grinned at Harry, then turned back to Dean.

"What was that all about?" Ron asked in bewilderment.

"Oh…nothing," Harry said dismissively, spooning porridge into his mouth quickly.

Hermione didn't look convinced, but she didn't press Harry any further.

Breakfast was soon over, and classes began. Harry spent much of the day daydreaming, much to Hermione's annoyance. "Harry, don't want to pass your OWLS this year?" she asked him during lunch.

"What?" Harry asked, but his mind and gaze were on Draco.

"Exactly! You're not paying attention to anyone! If you keep this up you're going to fail everything!"

Harry shrugged disinterestedly – he'd worry about the end-of-year exams when the time came. He tuned out Hemione's lecturing and let his gaze wander on over to the Slytherin table.

As Harry watched Draco eat his lunch, a sudden idea sprang to his mind – what if he told Draco? It was a crazy, rash, stupid thing to do, but a little voice deep inside Harry wouldn't shut up.

_How do you know he doesn't fancy you back?_, the voice asked.

_Because he's Draco Malfoy – God of Slytherin, who happens to hate me_, Harry argued back.

_He might not hate you completely_, the voice continued, _it's probably just an act._

_Well, even if he didn't hate me, there is the problem of him being straight._

_How do you **know** he's straight?_ Persisted the voice, _He could just be in denial, or scared to tell anyone, or even if he had told people, he wouldn't be likely to tell you, would he? You'll never know if you don't try._

_Shut up_, Harry responded, before realizing that not only had he been talking to himself, he'd just replied out loud. Ron looked at him strangely, and Harry gave him a weak smile back.

"Look Harry, just because **you** don't care about the end-of-year exams doesn't mean everyone else feels the same as you." Hermione huffed, apparently still going full-steam through her lecture.

"Uh, sorry Hermione," Harry said, "I, uh…let's change the subject, hmm?" Hermione frowned at Harry, but didn't say anything. Talk at the Gryffindore table resumed, but Harry could feel Hermione's ever-watchful gaze firmly directed at him.


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note: **I just wanted to thank everyone who's reviewed this fic so far. I'm not going to do a big long thank-you list that's longer than the chapter itself because that's not cool. I've been busy with exams, so sorry about the delay in updating.

-CHAPTER NINE-

That afternoon, when classes were over, Harry made his way down to the school lake. He knew it would be quiet and restful there, which was exactly what he wanted. Harry Potter was formulating a plan of attack, and he didn't want any distractions. He walked briskly, hoping that he wouldn't be recognized by anyone. The last thing he wanted right now was company.

"Harry!" he heard a voice call. He turned around to see Hermione racing towards him. Harry sighed and walked faster, hoping to lose her. "Harry!" Hermione called out again. To Harry's dismay, he saw she was gaining on him. He grudgingly slowed his pace to allow Hermione to catch up with him.

"Oh hi, Hermione," Harry said casually, "sorry I didn't see you there."

Hermione looked at him with slightly narrowed eyes, and Harry knew he wasn't fooling her for a second. They resumed walking, and before long had arrived at the lake. Harry sat down under a weeping willow, its branches so long they trailed in the water.

"So Harry," Hermione began tentatively, and it was all Harry could do to keep himself from groaning. He knew what this was going to be about, and he wasn't sure how he was going to worm his way out of it.  
"Yes Hermione?" Harry replied, keeping his tone light.  
"Well," Hermione began, "I don't want to beat around the bush…"

_Of course she wouldn't_, Harry thought to himself. He looked at her, "just spit it out, will you." Harry hoped he didn't sound **too** rude.

"Look Harry, we're just worried about you!"

"You made that perfectly clear at breakfast. And lunch."

Hermione bristled, "Harry, as your friend I think I have every right to be concerned about you! You're hardly functioning normally right now."

"What?" Harry asked, "I don't know what you're talking about. I eat, I sleep, I go to class-"

"Yes, but you don't take any notice of what's going on around you. Everything you do, you do out of habit!"

"I do not!" Harry exclaimed, feeling rather put-out.

"What did we have for lunch?" Hermione said suddenly.

Harry stared at her, "What? What are you talking about?"

"What did we have for lunch?" Hermione repeated, "Just answer the question, Harry."

"Uh, it was…uh…" Harry faltered, his mind blank.

"Exactly!" Hermione exclaimed triumphantly.

"Oh come on Hermione," Harry protested.

"No, you come on Harry," Hermione said, sounding impatient. "It's blindingly obvious that there's something going on. Please tell me what it is – I might even be able to help!"

Harry was silent as he tried to imagine telling Hermione – _So Hermione, you know Draco Malfoy? Charming Slytherin who, up until now, I've always hated? Yeah, well I really fancy him and I'm trying to come up with a way to win him over. Got any ideas? _Harry stifled a snort at the thought of him saying that to Hermione.

Hermione sighed, "Alright Harry, I'm not going to press you if you really don't want to tell me, but you know you can always talk to me, right?"

"Yeah, I do," Harry replied, "Thanks Hermione."

Deep down, something inside Harry longed to tell Hermione the truth, but something held him back. He didn't know what it was – fear, he supposed, feeling lie a coward. _I can't believe it. The guy who's taken on Voldemort _and_ survived, several times, can't tell his best friend he's gay. _Harry broke out of his train f thought with a jolt. Never before had he actually called himself gay. Sure, there'd been the crushes-on-guys thing before, but Harry had always assumed he was just curious, that it was natural for him to fancy guys too. Or, at the very most he was bisexual. But gay? This was a whole new kettle of fish.

Harry and Hermione sat together in silence for awhile longer, before dusk began settling in, and they were forced to turn back to the castle.


End file.
